New numbers from the U.S. Census show the Granite State has the lowest proportion of people living in poverty.
The figures show that last year, 8.1 percent of people in New Hampshire were living in poverty.
Researcher Jessica Carson with the UNH Carsey Institute says New Hampshire’s high ranking could give policy makers a false sense of security.
“I think certainly it’s a good thing that we’re doing relatively well but at the same, it is a double-edged sword that it can sort of lead officials or state leaders to think that poverty is sort of not a problem in the state at all.”
The state-by-state numbers have Mississippi ranked highest, at 22 percent.
The national rate stayed at 15 percent.
But it wasn’t all good news for New Hampshire on Tuesday.
New census data shows that 155,000 residents under the age of 65, roughly 14 percent, lacked health insurance last year.
That’s up nearly 30,000 people from 2009 levels.
